Editorial U.S. divided on free trade

Should the U.S.-Canada free trade agreement be approved by Congress in its present form? For the mining industry, this is a tough question. As Elmer Bierly, vice-president of Hecla Mining * * * told the (U.S. House of Representatives’) Mining and Natural Resources Subcomittee, his company is all for the treaty, stating that “we feel the agreement will be good for the mining industries of both countries.” He added that Hecla recognizes that some other metal producers may not share that opinion.

Also testifying were three metals producers who fall into the opposition category. * * * (One of those) opposed to the agreement in its present form was Jeffrey L. Zelms, president of The Doe Run Company. He said: “I take issue with this trade agreement. It ignores all that the U.S. industry has done to remain competitive in the world market by giving away the limited tariff offsets we have against a substantially subsidized Canadian non-ferrous metals industry.” From the American Mining Congress’ publication Washington Concentrates.